Sunday, August 9, 2009

Chapter Six

Hey guys,
I am so sorry that's it been so long since I updated. I was having some serious writer's block for both this and Le Petit Fleur but all is good again. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and comments are greatly appreciated.


Chapter Six

As always her peaceful dreams of Kris were ended when her phone vibrated on the bedside table. Still half asleep Nikki groaned and rolled over, picking her phone up.

‘It’s Christmas Eve!’ the text from Michelle said. ‘And there’s actually snow on the ground.’

Nikki smiled; it hadn’t snowed on Christmas Eve in years. Looking at her phone she saw that it was ten-thirty and figured that she would get up and find something to eat. Still in her pajamas Nikki made her way to the kitchen where Kris and Luc sat, in their pajamas as well. Nikki couldn’t help but smile as she said,” Good morning.”

“Good morning,” the guys said.

“Are you hungry?” Luc asked.

“Mhm,” she sat down.

“Tim Horton’s okay?” Kris asked grabbing the bag from the counter.

“Oui,” she said with a smile. When he stood she could see that along with a tight fitting Bauer t-shirt Kris was also wearing a pair of blue and white stripped boxers. She tried to keep her mind on Tim Horton’s and breakfast, but as her eyes wandered so did her taught. ‘Why?’ she asked herself. ‘Why does he have such a nice body? Because the accent, smile, hair, eyes, and skill on the ice weren’t enough, right? Oh am I going to miss this boy when I go back to Pittsburgh.’

Nikki had been admiring his muscular chest and arms when Luc pulled her from her thoughts. “Would you like another?” He was getting himself another doughnut.

Nikki nodded and thanked Luc. While eating this doughnut she tried unnoticeably take in every detail of his face. The first thing she noticed, as always, was his eyes. They were the perfect shade of brown, like melted chocolate and they made Nikki melt. His nose and cheeks were perfect and then his lips. His lips were absolutely perfect, ‘kissable’ she thought to herself.

When she was done analyzing her best friend’s face they discussed their plans for the day. The three of them would be going to mass at four o’clock. Nikki was glad that she had brought dress clothes, in hopes that she would be able to go to church. At around she decided that she would shower and get ready for church, leaving the boys to talk.

“How did she not notice?” Luc asked when he heard the shower turn on.

“Notice what?”

“The fact that you were practically staring at her from the moment she walked out of her room until she walked into the bathroom just now.”

“Oh that. I’m just glad she didn’t. I can’t help that I really like her.”

Soon the shower shut off and when Nikki vacated the bathroom Kris decided that he would shower. This left Nikki and Luc with some alone time. She wasn’t going to put her dress clothes on until she absolutely needed to, so in a pair of jeans and of course a Penguins t-shirt she sat down in the kitchen across from Luc.

They talked for a while, getting to know each other better until it was Luc’s turn to shower. When three o’clock rolled came Nikki went to get changed and when she rejoined the boys in the living room Kris’ jaw almost hit the floor. She was in a knee-length black skirt and a tight fitting, three-quarter sleeve white blouse; simple, yet classy. The heels she was wearing not only gave her height but also accented her muscular claves. Everything else was as usual, she wore no make-up, she was one who tended to lean towards a more natural look, and her hair was in a messy bun.

Kris and Luc were dressed in suits, the way Nikki had seen them the night before, before the game, It was also the way she was used to seeing Kris when he wasn’t in his gear.

“Just so you know it’s going to be in French.” Kris said with a smile.

“I expected that, I am in Quebec,” she smiled as well. “Zut, all I have with me is my hoodie and walking into church in a hoodie and skirt,” she didn’t know how to word it.

“I think I have something that you can borrow.” Kris went to the closet and pulled out a dark blue pea-coat. “It’ll probably be huge on you, but it’s warm.”

“Thanks,” she smiled taking the coat. It was warm to the touch. As they were leaving the apartment she slid the coat over her blouse and was surrounded by the warmth. She couldn’t help but catch a whiff of Kris’ scent which caused her to smile.

Mass went well and when they returned back to the apartment the three friends sat down, Nikki on the couch and Kris and Luc in the stools in the kitchen. “Nikki, come sit with us,” Luc said, smiling and looking over to Kris as Nikki stood from the couch and made her way towards them.

“So what’s the plan for the night?” She asked pulling herself up onto one of the stools.
“I’m going to make dinner,” Kris said slipping down off of his stool and continuing to talk as he made his way to the refrigerator. “Is fish okay?”

“Mhm,” Nikki said with a smile.

As Kris prepared dinner Luc got to know better, occasionally Kris would join in the conversation but it was hard to hear over the crackling of the fish on the stove top. He had prepared it with lemon juice and as it cooked the smell filled the apartment, bringing smiles to everyone’s faces.

Following dinner Luc did dishes, the few that there were and then the three of them spend the remainder of the evening talking and watching Christmas movies.

“Good morning,” Nikki said when Kris walked into the living room.

“Morning, how long have you been up?” Kris asked rubbing his eyes and brushing his hair out of his face.

“About an hour, Michelle texted me and I couldn’t fall back asleep.”

Luc soon joined them and Kris decided that he would make crepes for the three of them to enjoy. Fresh fruit, or as fresh as you can get fruit in Canada in the middle of winter, and Nutella were placed on the table along with the crepes for all to partake.

After yet another delicious meal prepared by Kris everyone sat down in the living room to exchange gifts. Nikki had run to her room to grab the gifts only to realize that she only had one for Kris. Sitting down on the couch she saw that both men had gift in their hands, neatly wrapped and the one that Kris had was rather large.

“Luc, I’m sorry that I didn’t get you anything.”

“It’s fine, really. But I’ll give you my gift before Kris because I know that his is better than mine.”

“Thank you,” she said as the gift was placed in her hand. As she tore the paper off she grew more excited, she was still a little kid at heart and loved presents. She opened the small white box; it was about the size of the palm of her hand, to reveal a silver chain. As she lifted the chain from the box a silver Penguins’ emblem dangled from it, catching the light, causing Nikki to smile. “Thank you so much Luc, I love it.” She stood and gave Luc a hug before handing Kris his gift.

“Merci, Nicolette,” He said, taking the gift and quickly removing the wrapping paper. There in his hands was the city that he missed so much, Pittsburgh. Nikki had got around taking pictures of different places around the city and had created a collage. “I love it,” he said, smiling widely. “This is for you.”

Nikki took the box from his hand, it was much larger than the box that she had opened a few moments earlier but was just as light. Tearing the wrapping paper at one end she slide it off the other and looked down at the white box just like one you would receive from any department store if you asked to have clothing gift wrapped. Opening the lid and removing the tissue paper she pulled a shirt from the box. It had taken up the entire thing and when it was fully out of the box and unfolded Nikki realized that it was a Val-d’Or Foreurs’ jersey. “Merci beaucoup, Kristopher,” she said excitedly, jumping up from where she sat on the couch and throwing her arms around Kris, after placing the jersey on the couch.

“Je vous en prie.” Both wanted the hug to last longer but the friendly hug soon ended and Nikki picked the jersey back up when she returned to her seat.

“Why don’t you put it on and I’ll take a picture of the two of you.”

Nikki pulled the jersey over her head and smiled, the smell of brand new hockey related clothing had an effect on her. After all her favorite scent in the entire world was the inside of the Mellon Arena, the perfect combination of ice, sweet, and nachos; most people though that she was odd, for lack of a better word, because of this.

When the jersey was pulled over her t-shirt and its warmth embraced her she moved closer to Kris for the picture. He put her arm around her, reluctantly at first, but when she didn’t fight it he relaxed. Both of their faces held smiles as the camera flashed.

“Guys I took the picture,” he said when they still sat with their arms around each other.

“I’m hungry,” Nikki said around eleven thirty.

“Sandwiches okay?” Kris asked.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Luc and Nikki sat down as Kris pulled things from the refrigerator for sandwiches.

“Not gonna take the jersey off?” Luc asked.

“No, I’m really comfy,” she smiled. “Thank you Kris.”

“You’re welcome.”